What occupational safety really covers in a company

What occupational safety really covers in a company

Occupational safety is not a binder in a cupboard. It is a set of duties every employer has from the first day it hires its first employee. They follow from Act No. 124/2006 Coll. on occupational safety and health and from the regulations built on it.

This article is an overview of what occupational safety really covers. Not a textbook definition, but a list of things that must exist and work in a company.

Risk assessment

The basis of everything. The employer must find out what can harm an employee at its workplaces and, under the general principles of prevention in Section 5 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll., eliminate or reduce the risks. Everything else follows from the risk assessment: which protective equipment to issue, what to train, which work is prohibited for pregnant women and young workers, where signage is needed.

A risk assessment is not a one-off document. When a new machine, a new technology or a new site appears, it has to be rewritten.

Informing employees

Under Section 7 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll. the employer must inform the employee on starting work, on transfer to other work, on the introduction of new technology and whenever conditions change. Repeated information is given at least once every three years, unless a special regulation sets a shorter period.

Watch out for that exception. On construction sites, for work at height, on mobile elevating work platforms and for scaffolders, a shorter period applies under Section 3 of Decree No. 147/2013 Coll.

The information must be demonstrable. That means a record with a date, content and signatures.

Professional qualification for specific activities

Some work cannot simply be trained, it requires a document. Operating a forklift, construction and agricultural machinery, slinging loads, work at height, operating a chainsaw, electrical qualification under Decree No. 508/2009 Coll. This is education and training under Section 16 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll., and the document must be kept valid through refresher training every five years.

Medical fitness

Preventive medical examinations in relation to work are governed by Act No. 355/2007 Coll. on the protection, promotion and development of public health. The scope and intervals depend on the category of work the employees are assigned to. Health risk assessment and the categorisation of work are handled by the occupational health service.

Personal protective equipment

The employer issues it free of charge, on the basis of the risk assessment, and must keep a record that the employee received it. This also covers checking that it is actually used.

Inspection activity

Under Section 9 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll. the employer must continuously check the state of safety, including the state of machines, equipment and work procedures. If nothing is ever checked at your company, the documentation will not help you during an inspection.

Workplace injuries

Every workplace injury must be recorded and, where incapacity for work exceeds three days, a record of the registered workplace injury must be drawn up, the cause established and measures taken. The duties are set out in Section 17 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll.

Employee safety representative

Under Section 19 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll. the employer must allow the election of an employee safety representative. In companies with more than 100 employees an occupational safety and health committee is set up.

Who is supposed to do this

The employer must have a safety service in place under Section 21 of Act No. 124/2006 Coll. Either it sets one up with its own people holding the necessary qualification, or it orders it externally from a company authorised by the National Labour Inspectorate.

An external solution does not relieve the employer of liability. The Act says so directly. It does, however, take the administration off your hands, and above all you no longer have to watch the deadlines yourself.

What to do about it

If you are not sure what from this list your company has and what it does not, we will walk through your operation with you and tell you straight. Have a look at what we do for companies in occupational safety, fire protection and the occupational health service, or get in touch.